Sunday, December 7, 2008

Anecdote: Do we need insurance for our mobile phones?

Nobody really don't care that much to buy an insurance policy for their mobile phones, I know I don't. Perhaps because we still believe in ourselves that we wouldn't be so careless to break our phones, but hey, bad things happen, and when it does arrive then there's nothing we can do to prevent it.

Many of us usually prefer to replace our broken mobile phones with a new one, instead of getting through all the troubles of having a mobile phone insurance. But then again, some of you may even say: "Is insurance for mobile phone exist? If it is, do I need one?"

Yes, there's actually a U.S.-based company called Asurion who sells mobile phone insurance. Yardena Arar from PC World thought of getting one, when her iPhone 3G nearly died.

Asurion's policies vary in price ($5 to $8 a month) and in details from carrier to carrier, but basically the company will replace a lost, missing, or malfunctioning out-of-warranty phone with an identical or similar model--once you pay a deductible.

But alas for you iPhone owners, Asurion chief marketing officer Andrew Cole told Yardena that no insurance program exists for the iPhone 3G. "We'd be happy to cover [the iPhone]," Cole says, explaining that the problem is a lack of replacement units. Apple, apparently, is either selling all the phones it makes to new owners, or using them to meet its own warranty obligations. "Literally thousands and thousands [of phones] are covered, except for the iPhone," Cole says.

Tell me, have you ever watch your favorite mobile phone take a quick swim in the toilet basin, you know, enjoying the "jacuzzi" while you say "ooops..." to yourself in pain? We might think and say that it's ridiculous to have an insurance policy for a mobile phone, but when that kinda accident happened, is it time for us to ask: "Do we really need insurance for our mobile phones?"

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